FreeAgent MCP server for AI agents

The FreeAgent MCP Server enables Claude to interact with your FreeAgent account for time tracking, including managing timeslips and timers. This integration works through the Model Context Protocol (MCP), giving Claude direct access to your time-tracking data.

Prerequisites

Node.js 18+ (for direct Node.js usage)
Docker & Docker Compose (for containerized usage)
A FreeAgent account with API access
OAuth credentials from the FreeAgent Developer Dashboard

Installation Options

Using Node.js Directly

Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/yourusername/freeagent-mcp.git
cd freeagent-mcp

Install dependencies:

npm install

Set up OAuth tokens:

# Set your FreeAgent credentials
export FREEAGENT_CLIENT_ID="your_client_id"
export FREEAGENT_CLIENT_SECRET="your_client_secret"

# Run the OAuth setup script
node scripts/get-oauth-tokens.js

Using Docker

Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/yourusername/freeagent-mcp.git
cd freeagent-mcp

Create your environment file:

cp .env.example .env
# Edit .env with your FreeAgent credentials

Build Docker image:

docker build -t freeagent-mcp .

Configuration

Add the server to your MCP settings file (typically located at %APPDATA%/Code/User/globalStorage/saoudrizwan.claude-dev/settings/cline_mcp_settings.json):

For Node.js Installation:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "freeagent": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["path/to/freeagent-mcp/build/index.js"],
      "env": {
        "FREEAGENT_CLIENT_ID": "your_client_id",
        "FREEAGENT_CLIENT_SECRET": "your_client_secret",
        "FREEAGENT_ACCESS_TOKEN": "your_access_token",
        "FREEAGENT_REFRESH_TOKEN": "your_refresh_token"
      },
      "disabled": false,
      "autoApprove": []
    }
  }
}

For Docker Installation:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "freeagent": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": [
        "run",
        "-i",
        "--rm",
        "-e", "FREEAGENT_CLIENT_ID",
        "-e", "FREEAGENT_CLIENT_SECRET",
        "-e", "FREEAGENT_ACCESS_TOKEN",
        "-e", "FREEAGENT_REFRESH_TOKEN",
        "freeagent-mcp"
      ],
      "env": {
        "FREEAGENT_CLIENT_ID": "your_client_id",
        "FREEAGENT_CLIENT_SECRET": "your_client_secret",
        "FREEAGENT_ACCESS_TOKEN": "your_access_token",
        "FREEAGENT_REFRESH_TOKEN": "your_refresh_token"
      },
      "disabled": false,
      "autoApprove": []
    }
  }
}

Using the MCP Server with Claude

Once configured, Claude can access several tools to interact with your FreeAgent account:

Listing and Filtering Timeslips

Claude can retrieve timeslips with various filters:

{
  "from_date": "2024-01-01",      // Start date (YYYY-MM-DD)
  "to_date": "2024-03-04",        // End date (YYYY-MM-DD)
  "updated_since": "2024-03-04T12:00:00Z",  // ISO datetime
  "view": "all",                  // "all", "unbilled", or "running"
  "user": "https://api.freeagent.com/v2/users/123",
  "task": "https://api.freeagent.com/v2/tasks/456",
  "project": "https://api.freeagent.com/v2/projects/789",
  "nested": true                  // Include nested resources
}

Creating New Timeslips

Claude can create new timeslips with the following parameters:

{
  "task": "https://api.freeagent.com/v2/tasks/123",
  "user": "https://api.freeagent.com/v2/users/456",
  "project": "https://api.freeagent.com/v2/projects/789",
  "dated_on": "2024-03-04",
  "hours": "1.5",
  "comment": "Optional comment"
}

Managing Timers

Claude can start and stop timers with a simple command:

// Start timer
{
  "id": "123"
}

// Stop timer
{
  "id": "123"
}

Features

The FreeAgent MCP Server provides these key capabilities:

List and filter timeslips with optional nested data
Create new timeslips with required fields
Update existing timeslips
Start and stop time tracking timers
Delete timeslips when needed
Automatic OAuth token refresh for continued access
Comprehensive error handling to troubleshoot issues

How to install this MCP server

For Claude Code

To add this MCP server to Claude Code, run this command in your terminal:

claude mcp add-json "freeagent" '{"command":"node","args":["path/to/freeagent-mcp/build/index.js"],"env":{"FREEAGENT_CLIENT_ID":"your_client_id","FREEAGENT_CLIENT_SECRET":"your_client_secret","FREEAGENT_ACCESS_TOKEN":"your_access_token","FREEAGENT_REFRESH_TOKEN":"your_refresh_token"},"disabled":false,"autoApprove":[]}'

See the official Claude Code MCP documentation for more details.

For Cursor

There are two ways to add an MCP server to Cursor. The most common way is to add the server globally in the ~/.cursor/mcp.json file so that it is available in all of your projects.

If you only need the server in a single project, you can add it to the project instead by creating or adding it to the .cursor/mcp.json file.

Adding an MCP server to Cursor globally

To add a global MCP server go to Cursor Settings > Tools & Integrations and click "New MCP Server".

When you click that button the ~/.cursor/mcp.json file will be opened and you can add your server like this:

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "freeagent": {
            "command": "node",
            "args": [
                "path/to/freeagent-mcp/build/index.js"
            ],
            "env": {
                "FREEAGENT_CLIENT_ID": "your_client_id",
                "FREEAGENT_CLIENT_SECRET": "your_client_secret",
                "FREEAGENT_ACCESS_TOKEN": "your_access_token",
                "FREEAGENT_REFRESH_TOKEN": "your_refresh_token"
            },
            "disabled": false,
            "autoApprove": []
        }
    }
}

Adding an MCP server to a project

To add an MCP server to a project you can create a new .cursor/mcp.json file or add it to the existing one. This will look exactly the same as the global MCP server example above.

How to use the MCP server

Once the server is installed, you might need to head back to Settings > MCP and click the refresh button.

The Cursor agent will then be able to see the available tools the added MCP server has available and will call them when it needs to.

You can also explicitly ask the agent to use the tool by mentioning the tool name and describing what the function does.

For Claude Desktop

To add this MCP server to Claude Desktop:

1. Find your configuration file:

macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
Linux: ~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

2. Add this to your configuration file:

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "freeagent": {
            "command": "node",
            "args": [
                "path/to/freeagent-mcp/build/index.js"
            ],
            "env": {
                "FREEAGENT_CLIENT_ID": "your_client_id",
                "FREEAGENT_CLIENT_SECRET": "your_client_secret",
                "FREEAGENT_ACCESS_TOKEN": "your_access_token",
                "FREEAGENT_REFRESH_TOKEN": "your_refresh_token"
            },
            "disabled": false,
            "autoApprove": []
        }
    }
}

3. Restart Claude Desktop for the changes to take effect